"Perma-death"

I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who dies a little on the inside every time they see any kind of social media update followed by the words "YOLO", the fact that it took a Drake song to make today's youth realize that their life could end at any moment is beyond me but this saying is making its way into video games in an intriguing way.  Thankfully not in the same light, "yolo" defined by Urban Dictionary (I know the most reputable of sources) as "carpe diem for stupid people", pretty good description if you ask me but the appearance this truth of only having one life to live is making in gaming is more of a run and survive from zombies situation.

"Permadeath" short for permanent death is just how it sounds, the player has one life, wish them luck.  This mechanic is not new to games in general, many RPGs and MMOs have featured modes of plays that the basis of play revolves player vs player combat which can result in the loss of a character someone has poured hours upon hours into establishing but what is new is the genres this mechanic is bleeding into.  The mechanic has now moved its way into the FPS genre based on the premise of the possibility of a zombie apocalypse, there have been many zombie games in recent years but none have really given the player a sense of fighting to survive because of allowing the player to continue from a previous save point.  PC players were greeted with this permadeath zombie experience thanks to a mod for ARMA 2 titled Day Z, right now players are playing with one another in a massive world trying to survive by any means necessary.  Players have been robbed by other players in search of "help" or have walked into ambushes set up by other players, this simple mechanic of permadeath has created so many gameplay experience that are not touted features of the mod but instead are gameplay choices made by players affecting other players.  Day Z being a multi player mod has given players freedom to survive as they see fit because of the addition of permadeath, without that mechanic there is no risk, with no risk there is no reward.  There is one up and coming game that takes permadeath in the same situation of a zombie apocalypse but it is crafted around a single player experience. 

ZombiU is as the title implies being released for Nintendo's new console (that's right CNN, it isn't merely a new controller) the Wii U, the game features many mechanics making use of the Wii U's touch controller but what has console gamers excited is it being the first zombie game for a home console to feature the permadeath mechanic.  ZombiU being a single player experience is still a bit of a mystery, developer Ubisoft Montpellier has been rather hush on the story of the single player campaign merely saying that players will see how long they can survive and they have been consistently showing new builds of the same area.  What we do know is that there is some sort of story as in the footage shown the player is communicating with someone, a guide of sorts giving them information on how to approach certain areas, this brings up the question of how much will this "guide" hold the players hand?  The inclusion of permadeath to a single player experience is something that requires delicate balancing, the player must feel the struggle of the situation they are in without getting too frustrated.  The design must focus intensely on the interaction the player has with the enemies and how the enemies react to the player.  Example, do the zombies react to noise?  Sound?  Light?  Movement?  And what is the size of the radius that if those factors take place close to an enemy that they will respond?  These are all questions that can have many answers but I look forward to the games release this fall to see if Ubisoft Montpellier can give players a balanced and fun answer. 

Check out the latest trailer for ZombieU from Gamescom 2012.